Apparatus for handling and liquid treating articles



May 24, 1955 E. A. WATSON EIAL 2,703,943

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING AND LIQUID TREATING ARTICLES Filed Aug. 12, 19533 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY May 24, 1955 E. A. WATSON ETAL 2,708,943

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING AND LIQUID TREATING ARTICLES Filed Aug. 12, 1953s Sheets-Sheet 2 E MUN g I sT @gz-A If Ar; as

ATTORNEY May 24, 1955 E. A. WATSON ETAL 2,708,943-

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING AND LIQUID TREATING ARTICLES Filed Aug. 12, 19533 Sheets-Sheet 3 I NVENTORS saw/UM A. m

. EVIA "322%? ,4. HAQR/S ATTORNEY United States Patent APPARATUS FORHANDLING AND LIQUID TREATING ARTICLES Edmund A. Watson, Paramus, N. J.,Morris S. Evans, Rockville Centre, N. Y., and Robert A. Harris, GlenRidge, N. .L, assignors to ACE Industries, Incorporated, a corporationof New Jersey Application August 12, 1953, Serial No. 373,796

7 Claims. (Cl. I'M-62) This invention relates generally to articlehandling apparatus and in particular to power-operated apparatus adaptedto be installed in a production line for continuously handling shells,projectiles or the like, to be quenched during heat treatment.

Various types of devices have been used to handle the shells through thequench tank or bath, but these usually involve at least some manualoperation of the device to receive and discharge the shells,respectively, from and onto the conveyors. In some systems, a shellcarrier or similar device is lifted by hoist or crane to transport theshells into and out of the quench tank between the various heat treatingfurnaces. This tends to interrupt the continuity of the production line,slowing up production and adding to the cost of manufacture of theshells. 7

It is an object of the present invention to provide a power-operatedshell handling apparatus which eliminates the use of hoist or crane inhandling of the shells.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus as abovedescribed adapted to be installed in a mass production line for theuninterrupted handling of shells and similar articles through a quenchor other treatment to which they are subjected.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus asabove described which insures thorough and positive quenching of theinterior of the hollow shells.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of an apparatusas described comprising a vertically movable elevator frame havingrotatable shell holding cages adapted to receive the shells nose-firstfrom a delivery conveyor, lower them nose-down into the quench tank, andunload them, after being raised from the quench tank, base-first bygravity onto a discharge conveyor.

These and other objects of the invention willbe apt parent to thoseskilled in the art from a study of the following description taken withthe accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is an end elevational view taken on line 1--;l of Fig. 2 showingthe shell handling apparatus in raised and lowered positions in thequench tank between two heat treating furnaces along a production line;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation view of the apparatus in lowered position inthe quench tank;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus taken on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of one of the shell holding cages of theapparatus taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view through one of the shell holdingcages and positioning means in the quench tank taken on line 5-5 of Fig.4.

Referring now more in detail to the drawings, the apparatus is shown inFig. 1 installed between two heat treating furnaces, such as a heatingfurnace A and draw furnace B, only diagrammatically shown. The apparatusis mounted in the quench tank C in the building ice floor and comprisesa main frame D which may be formed of spaced upright H-beams 6 connectedtogether at the top by channels 8 and 10. The main or stationary frameof the apparatus is supported on the bottom of the tank in any suitablemanner, such as by baseplates 1i, and is reinforced at the top of eachside thereof by gussets 12 and braced at floor level by gussets 13. Apair of spaced channels 14 is mounted across the top of the main frame Dfor supporting a power cylinder 16 provided with a piston rod 18 fromwhich is suspended an elevator frame generally indicated at E. Theelevator frame E comprises a pair of spaced upright H-beams 2t tiedtogether by oppositely arranged upper and lower channels 22, 24,respectively, and braced by gussets 25.. The elevator frame B may besecured to the power piston rod 18 by any suitable means such as theclevis 26 and pin 28 journalled in an attaching member 30 fixed to thetop of the upper channels 22 of the elevator frame. The elevator frameis vertically movable relative to the main frame and is guided thereonby rollers 32 carried by the H-beams 20 of the elevator frame and ridingagainst the webs of the H-beams 6 of the main frame.

A shell holding cage carrier beam 34 formed of a pair of spacedoutwardly facing channels 36 suitably tied together at their ends isjournalled as indicated at 38 in suitable bearings 40 provided on theinner faces of the webs of the upright H-beams 29 of the elevator frame.Secured to this beam 34 are a plurality (nine, as shown in Fig. 2) ofspaced-apart shell holding cages 42 each formed of a pair of rings 44 ofproper diameter such as to embrace the lower middle portion of theshells S, and oppositely arranged pairs of rollers 46 for engaging theupper middle portion of the shells. The rings are tied together bycircumferentially spaced ribs 48 welded to cross plates 50 extendingbetween the webs of opposite channels 36 of the beam 34 and bolted asindicated at 52 to the lower flange of the channels, which arereinforced at the top by gussets 54. The rollers 46 are so arranged andshaped as to conform to the contour of the surface of the upper middleportion of the shells S with which they are engageable when holding theshells in the cages. The rollers 46 are journalled in angles 56 havingportions bolted, as

' indicated at 58, or otherwise suitably secured, to the upper flangesof the carrier beam channels 36.

Means are provided in the lower portion of the tank C engageable by theshell noses for positioning the shells when submerged and to insurethorough and positive quenching of the interior thereof. The shellpositioning means comprising a plurality of pairs of vertically spacedrings 60 so arranged as to be in alignment with the shell holding cages42 when lowered. These rings 60 are similar to the rings 44 of the shellholding cages 42, but are of smaller diameter such as to embrace atspaced points the lowermost or nose tip portion of the shells S when thelatter are submerged to lowered position in the tank C. The rings 60 arewelded or otherwise suitably secured to the inner face of the webs ofand between a pair of spaced channels 62 secured to the tops of a pairof upright H-beams 64 supported on the bottom of the tank inwardly ofthe H-beams 6 of the main frame D. The beams 64 may be mounted in thetank C by any suitable means such as the pedestals 66, as more clearlyshown in Fig. 1. Also supported by and between the upper portions of thebeams 64 below the spaced channels 62 to which the pairs of rings 60 aresecured, is another pair of narrowly spaced channels 68 to the innerfaces of the webs of which are welded or otherwise secured nozzleguiding members '71). A quench pipe or conduit 72 extendingsubstantially the full length of the tank C is supported at its ends asindicated at 74, for vertical movement in the tank, on the ends ofpiston rods 76 working in cylinders 73, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. Thecylinders 78 are mounted at opposite sides of the main frame D andconnected by pipes 80 with a source of air pressure (not shown). Thepiston rods 76 are slidable in suitable guide members 82 located on theouter surface of the webs of the H-beams 6 at opposite sides of the mainframe D. The quench pipe 72 is closed at both ends and provided withupstanding quench nozzles 34 arranged to slidably extend through thenozzle guide members 79 and into the hollow noses of the shells S whenlowered to submerged position. A flexible hose 86 is connected in anysuitable manner as indicate at 88 to the quenching pipe 72 at one endwith its other end connected to a pump P shown as located outside of thetank C for supplying quenching fluid under predetermined pressure to thepipe 72 and then through the quenching nozzles 84 to the interior of thehollow noses of the shells S, as shown in Fig. 2. The quenching pipe isprovided with depending guide member 9G, the quench pipe extendingthrough elongated slots in the webs of the H-beams 6 of the main frame Dand the quench pipe and guide member extending through larger slots inH-beams 64 to permit vertical movement thereof, the opening in thelatter being indicated at 92 in Fig. l.

The elevator frame E is lowered into and raised from the quench tank Cby the piston rod 18 working in power cylinder 16, and the shell holdingcages 42 are rotated thereon by a hydro or other suitable motor Mmounted on top of the upper channels 22 of the ele vator frame. Themotor M is operatively connected to the rotatable carrier beam 34 by adrive indicated at 94 and gear wheel 96 fixed on a journalled end 38 ofthe carrier. beam. In operation of the apparatus, the elevator frame isinitially in raised position as shown in the upper portion of Fig. l,with the cages 42 in the full-line position as viewed therein toregister with and receive a row of shells S nose first from a deliveryroller conveyor F, only diagrammatically shown. The shells are moved inrows through the furnace A and discharged at intervals when heated tothe required temperature onto the conveyor F by any suitable means, theconveyor being downwardly inclined (about 20 from the horizontal, asshown) whereby to deliver the J shells by gravity to the cages. Toprevent wedging of the shell casings in the cages 42 due to theirconsiderable weight, a bumper 93 is provided on the side of the mainframe D remote from the delivery conveyor F and coextensive withelevator frame E. This bumper 98 is movably mounted in supports ilit]fixed to brackets 102 suitably secured to the main frame. impact of theshells against the bumper 98 as they are received in the cages 42 fromdelivery conveyor F is cushioned by compression coil springs 104 seatedbetween the bumper and abutments 106 secured to the brackets 102.

The cages 42 are then rotated counter-clockwise, as viewed and indicatedby arrows in Fig. 1, to position the shells S vertically with nosedownward for lowering into the quench tank C, as shown in the lowerportion of Fig. l. The shells S are submerged in the quench tank for thepredetermined period of time required to insure thorough quenching,during which the quench nozzles 84 are raised by cylinders 76 to injectquench ing fluid under pressure directly into the hollow noses of theshells, which breaks any gas pockets that may exist therein and insuresa thorough quenching of the interior of the shells. At to end of therequired time interval of submersion of the shells in the quench tank,the quench nozzles 84 are lowered or withdrawn from the shell noses byenergizing the cylinders 78 and the elevator frame E is raised upwardlyabove the level L of the quench fluid in the tank C. The cages 42 arethen further rotated by the motor M counter-clockwise, as viewed andindicated by arrows in Fig. l, to a reverscly inclined position asindicated by broken lines therein whereby the shells fall by gravitybase-first onto a discharge roller conveyor G. The shells are then"-CWCLl along the discharge conveyor toward the draw furnace B by anysuitable means such as a ram R operated on track T through piston Hworking in the power cylinder J. The conveyors may be of any suitabletype, being shown in the present instance for purposes of illustrationas roller conveyors, with the discharge conveyor G supported on spacedI-beams K.

As indicated by the broken-line position of the shell and the arrows inFig. l, the shell-holding cages 42 are rotatable counter-clockwise fromthe full-line shell receiving position through approximately 200 to thereverse inclined shell unloading position. The cages are then rotatedclockwise by the reversible motor M after unloading the shells at theend of each quenching operation back to the initial position shown infull lines to receive another row of shells to be quenched. When in theshell receiving position, the cages are inclined at approximately anangle of 20 from the horizontal in line with the downwardly inclineddelivery conveyor F from which the shells are received nose-first bygravity. Since the cages are rotatable through approximately 200, asnoted above, it will be seen that they will be inclined at about anangle of 40 from the horizontal when in the reverse tilted base-firstshell unloading position. This insures quick unloading of the shellsfrom the cages by gravity onto the discharge conveyor G at thecompletion of each quenching cycle. Unloading of the shells from thecages, as well as delivery thereto from the conveyor F, is alsofacilitated by the rollers 45 which, in addition to the continuityprovided by the apparatus in handling the shells, further speeds upmovement thereof along the production line and through the quenchtreatment. The cylinder 16, motor M, cylinders '78 and ram cylinder Jare energized from a conveniently located control panel (not shown),providing centralized and coordinated control of the various mechanismscomprising the entire apparatus.

The invention may be modified in various respects as will occur to thoseskilled in the art, and the exclusive use of all such modifications thatcome within the scope of the appended claims is contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for handling shells and like articles to be loweredto and raised from a position where they are subjected to a treatment,in combination with delivery and discharge conveyor means, a stationaryframe between said conveyor means, a vertically movable elevator framesupported by said stationary frame, open-ended cages adapted to receiveand hold shells at the waist portion thereof rotatably mounted on saidelevator frame, a bumper bar on the side of said stationary frameopposite the delivery conveyor means, means for lowering and raisingsaid elevator frame to and from shell treating position, and means forrotating said cages simultaneously to receive shells nose-first fromsaid delivery conveyor means against said bumper bar, said rotatingmeans being operable to position the shells vertically downward forlowering to treatment position and swing them after being raised fromsaid position to a reverse base-first tilted position whereby the sameare unloaded by gravity onto said discharge conveyor means.

2. In an apparatus for handling shells and the like to be lowered to andraised from a position where they are quenched incident to heattreatment, in combination with shell delivery and discharge conveyormeans, a stationary frame between said conveyor means, a verticallymovable elevator frame supported by said stationary frame, shell holdingcages rotatably carried by said elevator frame, means for lowering andraising said elevator frame to and from shell quenching position, meansfor rotating said cages simultaneously to successively receive shellsnosefirst from said delivery conveyor means and position them verticallywith nose downward for lowering to quenching position, and meansengageable by the shells when lowered to retain the same in positionduring quenching, said cage rotating means being operable to swing theshells after being raised from quenching position to a reversebase-first tilted position whereby the same are unloaded by gravity ontosaid discharge conveyor means.

3. In an apparatus for handling shells and like articles for lowering toand raising from a quench tank in the process of heat treatment, incombination with delivery and discharge conveyor means, a stationaryframe mounted in the tank and extending upwardly between said conveyormeans, a vertically movable elevator frame supported by said stationaryframe, a beam journalled on said elevator frame, shell holding cagescarried by said beam, means for lowering and raising said elevator frameinto and out of the quench tank, means for rotating said beam to swingsaid cages simultaneously to sequentially receive shells nose-first fromsaid delivery conveyor means and position them vertically with nosedownward for lowering into the quench tank, and means adapted to beengaged by the nose of the shells to position the shells in the quenchtank, said cage rotating means being operable to swing the shells afterbeing raised from the quench tank to a reverse base-first tiltedposition whereby the same are unloaded from said cages by gravity ontosaid discharge conveyor means.

4. In an apparatus for handling shells and the like to be lowered to andraised from a position where they are subjected to a quench treatment,delivery and discharge conveyor means, a quench tank below said conveyormeans, a stationary frame extending upwardly from the tank between saidconveyor means, a vertically movable elevator frame supported by saidstationary frame, shell holding cages rotatably carried by said elevatorframe, means for lowering and raising said elevator frame into and outof the quench tank, means for rotating said cages to sequentiallyreceive shells in a nose-first position from said delivery conveyormeans and position them nose-downward for lowering into the quench tank,shell positioning means in the quench tank, and means for positivelyquenching the interior of the shells whilepositioned in the quench tank,said cage rotating means being operable to swing the shells after beingraised from said quench tank to a reverse base-first tilted positionwhereby the same are unloaded from said cages by gravity onto saiddischarge conveyor means.

5. In a system for handling shells and similar hollownosed articles tobe lowered and raised into and out of a quench tank, shell delivery anddischarge conveyor means, a stationary frame extending upwardly from thetank between said conveyor means, a vertically movable elevator framesupported by said stationary frame, shell holding cages rotatablycarried by said elevator frame, means for lowering and raising saidelevator frame into and out of the quench tank, means for rotating saidcages to receive shells in a nose-first position from said deliveryconveyor means and turn them to a nose-downward position for loweringinto the quench tank, vertically movable quench nozzles in the quenchtank, and

means for raising and lowering said nozzles into and out of the hollownoses of the shells whereby to positively quench the latter, said cagerotating means being operable to swing the shells after being raisedfrom the quench tank to a reverse base-first tilted position whereby thesame are unloaded from said cages by gravity onto said dischargeconveyor means.

6. In a system for lowering and raising shells or similar hollow-nosedarticles into and out of a quench tank during heat treatment, shelldelivery and discharge conveyor means, a stationary frame extendingupwardly from the tank between said conveyor means, a vertically movableelevator frame supported on said stationary frame, shell holding cagesrotatably carried by said elevator frame, means for lowering and raisingsaid elevator frame into and out of the quench tank, means for rotatingsaid cages to receive shells in a nose-first position from said deliveryconveyor means and swing them to a nose-down position for lowering intothe quench tank, a horizontally extending vertically movable inanifoldin the quench tank, quench nozzles on said manifold, means for raisingand lowering said manifold to move said nozzles up and down into and outof the hollow noses of the shells to positively quench the latter, andmeans for guiding the quench nozzles in their up and down movement, saidcage rotating means being operable to swing the shells after beingraised from the quench tank to a reverse base-first tilted positionwhereby the same are unloaded from said cages by gravity onto saiddischarge conveyor means.

7. An apparatus for handling a shell or like article to be lowered toand raised from a position where it is subjected to a treatment,including a stationary frame, a vertically movable elevator framesupported by said stationary frame, a shell holding cage rotatablycarried by said elevator frame, means on the stationary frame forlowering and raising said elevator frame to and from shell treatingposition, said cage comprising spaced rings of varying diameter andanti-friction elements conforming to the contour of the shell, and meansfor rotating said shell holding cage to sequentially receive a shell innose-first position from a delivery conveyor means, position itvertically with nose down for lowering to treatment position, and swingthe shell after being raised from said treatment position to a reversetilted base-first position whereby the same is unloaded by gravity ontoa discharge conveyor means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS487,001 Berna Nov. 29, 1892 1,168,313 Kenworthy Jan. 18, 1916 1,392,583Lee et a1. Oct. 4, 1921 1,492,924 Knight May 6, 1924 2,560,425 JoorneauxMay 2, 1950 2,546,385 Christina Mar. 27, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 629,095Germany Apr. 23, 1936

